Supply issues hampering COVID-19 vaccinations as teachers push to be added to current phase

ATLANTA — There is a growing push from educators across the state, urging Gov. Brian Kemp to include teachers in the current phase of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

A handful of states across the country have already started vaccinating teachers and school staff. But here in Georgia, the governor’s office reported a supply problem is tying their hands.

Lisa Morgan is a DeKalb County teacher and the president of the Georgia Association of Teachers.

She told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson that she supports the growing push for teachers to become eligible for vaccinations now.

“We want to be face to face with our students,” Morgan said. “Having the vaccine adds another factor of the way we can make it safer to be with our students face to face.”

The push comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that found little evidence that schools are a source of COVID-19 spread nationwide.

Researchers monitored 17 schools in Wisconsin and found zero staff and seven students became infected at school. But masks were required, and students learned in small groups.

“We know that’s not happening in our schools here in Georgia. We know there are systems that still don’t have mask mandates. We know there are systems that, you know, have full, regular class sizes,” Morgan said.

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This week, 11 metro school superintendents wrote to Kemp, urging him to add them to the current vaccination phase.

“The longer we delay in vaccinating our teachers and school staff, the more we risk having to close our doors once again,” the letter read, in part.

Cody Hall with the governor’s office said this is simply a supply issue.

“If we could create more vaccine out of thin air, we absolutely would,” Hall said.

Georgia has used 60% of its current supply so far and aims to vaccinate 2 million health care workers, first responders and seniors.

The state receives only 120,000 doses per week.

“As soon as the supply is there, teachers and school staff will absolutely be part of any expanded population added to vaccination criteria,” Hall said.

Most states have not made teachers eligible for a vaccine right now.

But 23 states have, according to a count by Education Week.

In Virginia, it began vaccinating teachers more than two weeks ago.

The Virginia Department of Health told Johnson that it did so by splitting its supply in half. One half went toward seniors and the other for front-line, essential workers like teachers.

“It’s a series of trade-offs, and there are no easy decisions here. And, you know, states have just gone in different directions in terms of how they prioritize access,” said Jennifer Tolbert with the Kaiser Family Foundation.

For Georgia teachers, they said they do not want to cut in line.

“We do want the process to work better so that we can get to educators being eligible for the vaccine quicker,” Morgan said.

Based on the state vaccination plan released at the start of this month, moving into the next phase is entirely dependent on supply. Teachers are currently listed under the next phase to get vaccinated.

Kemp has said all week that once Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey feels comfortable in expanding to another phase, the state will be ready to vaccinate educators.

Gov. Kemp has conference call with metro superintendents over vaccines, sources say Nearly a dozen metro Atlanta superintendents said they need teachers vaccinated against COVID-19 to keep schools open.

Cox Media Group